


Pepper Jack

by ChimeraEyes



Category: Original Work
Genre: Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 21:31:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12802794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChimeraEyes/pseuds/ChimeraEyes
Summary: Just a story my dad prompted me to write. Please read and review to tell me what you think.





	Pepper Jack

Pepper Jack had just turned fifteen today. On this June sixteenth, fifteen years ago, Pepper Jack was born the his parent, Mozzarella and Muenster Grade, the proud owners of the richest and most beautiful hotel in the most beautiful part of Cheese City, the Aur Hotel. Pepper Jack lived a reasonable and happy life till this day with no clear sign that that would change and he felt a strong urge to celebrate. Today was, after all, as most civilized people would call it, his birthday.

Pepper Jack Grade was, with the exception of his very wealthy parents, an average child. He had a soft head of blonde hair and bright blue eyes he inherited from his mother; His looks were nothing to scoff at but there just wasn't much else. He had average intelligence, which meant below average grades in school, and he was never the most athletic person; A one mile journey across town usually knocked him out for the rest of the day.

Because he wasn't much of an accomplished child in the eyes of anyone who actually knew him, he was not surrounded by much love which is something every child needs to grow up healthy. Mozzarella believed that, at least while Muenster was strongly against it; Sometimes it seemed as though the man believed every child must earn appreciation and that a useless child was utterly worthless, no better than a pet.

Despite his lack of individual uniqueness, Pepper Jack was given anything he could ever want with the sole exception of love, which was all his mother, who had no legal claim over the money the hotel and her husband made, could give him.

As hard as it is to believe, this is an exact summary of the young Pepper Jack’s first fifteen years on this earth; Uneventful, unloved but rather healthy.

Whether it was a good or bad life is up for debate but the truth of the matter doesn't change the fact that the boy kept a smile on his face through all of it and he did not think this day, his fifteenth birthday, should be any different.

That's why he rose from his large bed, just one small person amongst a mountain of covers and blankets he didn't even need, and smiled far more brightly than usual.

“Hello world,” He declared in a loud voice, not caring who heard him, “And a happy happy birthday to me!”

The awkward silence that followed hardly hindered him.

As fast as that classic smile leapt on his features, he slipped out of his fuzzy pajamas and into his comfortable suit; A loose fitted white dress shirt, some navy blue slacks and a blue jacket to match.

He had about five copies of that same outfit made because it was his most comfortable outfit and he did not see any reason why he should wear anything different once upon his fifteenth birthday.

He did not even bother putting on shoes because he didn't need to. He never left the hotel grounds and nothing left on the ground was ever sharp so he ran freely once he left his room, his feet slapped loudly against the carpeted paths, not caring who he disturbed.

Pepper Jacks room was a suite on the eighth floor, the top floor of the hotel. He, by default being a member of the owner's family, inherited such a luxury.

Normally the red velvet carpeted halls were filled with maids in their frilly uniforms who cleaned their assigned rooms till they shimmered spotlessly in the rays of sunlight that shone through the open windows.

Usually there were staff members rushing from hall to hall making whatever they were hired to make, be it orders for the maids, food for the Mr. Muenster or polish for the silver plated picture frames that hung in a large number on every floor. 

Often even plumbers and window cleaners crowded the rooms to clean the windows, spread scented flowers wherever they could, fix any malfunctioning sinks or toilets, and wipe the dust that gathered on the paintings hung up throughout the room.

As you can tell by the way I say this that things were different today.

The normally lively and busy halls were empty and silent today, so quiet Pepper Jack could hardly hear himself think.

This could be blamed on two reasons.

One, it was about five in the morning. Pepper Jack wished to get up very very early so that he could extend his birthday, a joyous day for all to smile on, as long as possible.

Two, because today was the birthday of another. Today was the birthday of the very same hotel he lived in, the Aur Hotel. Muenster always called it a wretched coincidence that his wife gave birth to his first child on the anniversary of his beloved hotel, but it was really not done thing anyone could have predicted, not could anyone change.

But the truth of the matter was the latter theory; All the staff had gotten up quite early to prepare for the grand party that was thrown annually for their beautiful hotel, the pride and joy of Cheese city; They prepared mounds of the finest foreign and notice foods, they hired only quality entertainment from all around the country side, they decorated the halls with beautiful flowers and decorates.

Not a single expense was spared for this grand holiday. It was a celebration only the richest people participated in but it still had a weight in the societies of Cheese city simulator to that of Halloween or New Years Day.

In short, it was a very very big deal and certainly not a laughing matter; Something Pepper Jack and his cheerful personality knew absolutely nothing about.

In the main hall, every member of staff, no matter how minor, pooled silently in front of the podium where, when necessary, Mr. Muenster would make his announcements.

They waited rather impatiently for a solid twenty minutes. This had become almost a tradition since the owner of the hotel refused to make speeches unless he looked completely presentable. 

They were all unsure if it was because of his own personal vanities or if he really really feared losing the respect of his staff. They assumed it didn't matter since they would get fired if they asked and, either way, he was still their boss.

Once the Mr. Muenster finally emerged from the shimmering red curtains in the back of the stage, in his vest of pure black and leather over coat, hair slicked back with fine oils he purchased from foreign lands, the maids and staff members that had been here for all these decades, twenty two years ago when the hotel was first established, were left speechless.

They had genuinely, despite him being middle aged, seen him look this good in years; Certainly not since dear Mozzarella's illness had first begun to surface.

It was truly a joy to all to see some life resurface in his aged green eyes.

Chattering filled the hall but as soon as Mr. Muenster’s iron heeled shoes hit the edge of the wooden podium, they were immediately silenced.

A long silence followed until the man's loud and commanding voice filed their waiting ears.

“Ladies and gentlemen, beloved staff of my Grand Aur Hotel,” Muenster Grade spoke, extending his arms out wide in a dramatic motion to affirm that it was those in front of him who had toiled and labored for this hotel who he was addressing, “As you are well aware by now, today marks the twenty second anniversary of this fine place and in that time, we have become the greatest but, do not think this was anything short of your own accomplishment.”

He let his arms fall back to his sides as he gave his employees a kind look, “The dream me and my wife had may have become famous because of the customers who stayed here but it was you who truly made it a reality. It's because of your efforts of perfection and work here that we are standing here today.”

Pepper Jack hid behind a corner nervously, hoping to avoid his fathers usually very watchful gaze. He did this because a part of him was too scared to outright declare his birthday when there were so many adults around.

The boy had grown quite used to the speeches his father gave on his birthday, as the speeches were all quite similar, and he hardly saw the purpose or importance in them.

The only part he ever really liked was when his wonderful mother would sneak up onto the podium and wish her adorable son a happy birthday and the whole room would clap for him, even his father even if it was only to be considerate to his wife's kindness.

Suddenly the boys smile faltered till it was just a weak fainted smirk on his pale face.

But those days were long gone now. 

His normally bright blue eyes became dim and downcast as he put all his weight on a neighboring wall.

His mother, Mozzarella would not come to the stage and wish him happy birthday like always.

She would never do it ever again.

“Don't stand there uselessly, boy.”

A commanding voice broke through his shade of dark thoughts like a knife through butter. 

His breath was caught in his throat as his head jerked up to see the main hall flooded with people like it usually was except this time, every head was looking his way.

The sudden attention made him feel minorly uncomfortable but he quickly snapped out of it as he forced himself forward, giving all the familiar faces an equally familiar smile.

“Good morning, father.” Pepper Jack chirped like the happy birds in the morning.

“What are you doing here?” Muenster asked impatiently, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut at the sight of his sons far too bright smile, “Have you even had breakfast yet?”

Pepper Jack was hardly hindered by his cold words and kept his steady pace up to the podium, “I came to see you, of course!”

“Why?” His father groaned in reply.

“Don't you know what day it is?”

Pepper Jack had asked the question in a friendly manner, not intending to insult anyone's intelligence by implying that he wouldn't know his own sons birthday but judging by the bitter look that came onto his father's face told Pepper Jack that he had done just that.

“If you have anything important to say, say it after you have had breakfast.” Was the dismissal Muenster offered with a long sigh, “As you can see, I am very busy.”

It was blunt, cold and hardly a way a father should dismiss his own child but it was nothing Pepper Jack wasn't used to yet it was odd because he still felt somewhat hurt.

Somehow, it bothered him how his own father absolutely refused to look him in the eye anymore, not like he ever did to begin with.

It had always bothered him so why should today, his fifteenth birthday, be any different?

The cook, Blue, a kind middle aged woman he knew since childhood, was the one to break him out of his trance and drag him away to the nearly abandoned kitchen where she made him the quick but reasonably filling dish of bacon and eggs.

Pepper Jack thanked her before sitting himself down on a wooden stool and taking a bite of his sunny side up eggs.

He couldn't find himself to enjoy the normally delicious breakfast because of the way his father treated him that morning.

So, in a rush, he choked down his two eggs and, still chewing his bacon, ran back through the halls, into the main hall, pushed past the people, walked up the podium, passed through the silky curtain, walk passed the large black door after that, walked up the stairwell, stepped into the doorway and set his eyes on his father who was eating his own breakfast at his desk.

This dark and damp room, though not very stable, was where the owner of this grand plaza chose to make his study.

It was a small cube like room; The floorboards were the same as the rotting wood that acted as a wallpaper; Two very outdated oil lamps were seated comfortably on an old dusty desk and acted as the rooms only source of light aside from the large window in the back of the room, gently framed with deep green curtains.

In all actuality, the room suited the man quite well from his personality to his perpetual misery to his rat like appearance to his rather darkly colored wardrobe.

Since Pepper Jack was a little boy, he had always been told never ever to go into this room without permission under any known circumstances, not even if it would save his life. It was funny because the room was strongly scented with peach and mold and whenever he neared the room, the mysterious fumes nearly suffocated him. Since then the scent of peaches had always been associated with mystery or hidden treasure in his own mind.

That being said, walking into this room of his own accord filled him with a strange amount of excitement and only further brightened the smile on his face.

He held his arms behind his back, something his father told him to do to keep him from touching anything of value, and cleared his throat to get his father's attention because he seemed to be ignoring him.

Even after calling for his father's attention, the man seemed to take an extra long time before acknowledging his existence.

“Don't call from me from the doorway like a barbarian.” He snapped, “Come in and say what you need to say.”

Pepper Jack did what he was told and walked into his father's steady. Being his father's son, he decided to be just as blunt as the man and went straight to the point.

“Father?” He inquired, “Don't you know what day it is?”

A pause everything but the pen that Muenster scribbled with so fervently. Pepper Jack knew it was probably something important but all he saw were scribbles on white paper and he couldn't bring himself to care.

“It is my hotel’s twenty second anniversary.” He replied after a long while.

“Oh, other than that!” Pepper Jack said with a role of his eyes.

Another long silence.

“Come on! Think!”

Pepper Jack was fully aware that he was being a nuisance to the cranky old man but this sort of behavior made most adults smile and it was the only way he really knew how to act.

With a soft sigh, he drew back and straightened his posture. Muenster still hadn't even do much as glanced up at him so, before his father decided to call Blue in to make him leave, he got straight to it.

“It's my birthday, father.”

A silence. No reply. 

“...Father?”

He just kept scribbling nonsense of that blank piece of paper. It was only now that Pepper Jack realized that there were at least one hundred and thirty five pieces of blank paper underneath it.

Muenster liked to tell him to go away because he was busy but he was never not busy. He would never finish that mountain of paper and there would certainly never be a time gap between this mountain and the one to come.

He had always been that way for as long as Pepper Jack could remember.

“Father.” He muttered, “Won't you… Wish me happy birthday?”

Somehow, when he spoke those words, they felt like ice lining his throat and tongue. He had not experienced a chill so intense before. Goosebumps lined his forearms and he began to shift his weight from foot to foot.

Why did this happen? He could never be sure but it was the only thing he said that made his father stop writing.

He was only thankful for it for a moment but the silence that followed felt almost ominous.

His father let out a dark and harsh chuckle, not the sort that was brought on by any sort of humor but by knowledge of cruelty and the naïveté of another. In short, his father was laughing at him, not because he said something funny but because he simply didn't like him very much right now.

“Oh? And why should I do that?”

“Because,” Pepper Jack replied, “It's what you do every year.”

“Usually wishing someone happy birthday, means that they have done something to deserve a happy celebratory day in their miserable lives.”

“...What?”

“What I mean to say,” Muenster put down his pen and looked his son straight in the eyes, the ones he had been avoiding all day, reminding him that he was not a man who would joke about these sorts of things, “Why should I celebrate the day of your birth when you have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.”

And there was another silence as Pepper Jack's mind processed this new information, never breaking from his father's strong gaze.

It was the information that told him that after all that happened in the past year, after all the years he spent existing as the man's only biological son and heir to whatever he owned, Muenster was willing to ignore all of it and skip his own sons birthday for no other reason than that he was useless.

That was the end of it.

It was a rather harsh thing to say but still certainly something the fifteen year old had grown quite used to over the years. His father could be passive aggressive, cruelly pranking him when he has had a bad day at work or when he was just feeling depressed, keeping him locked in his room for the day without food or water, sending him on three mile long journeys he knew were far too long for a child, but never had he out right denied him a birthday.

Pepper Jack liked to think that it wasn't in his father's usually cruel nature to outright deny him the only thing that was dedicated to him, not the hotel, not the customers, not money, not some economic achievements, just little old Pepper Jack Grade, who, though didn't do much to deserve this rich life he was born into, still thought he was well behaved enough to deserve one day out of the year. 

Every year, his mother always pleaded for Muenster to put some money into some cheap gifts only a child would be impressed with and a chocolate cake, Pepper Jack's favorite flavor. The man, though very hesitantly, always wished him a happy birthday and payed for the whole party and Pepper a Jack was content with it, even if only Pepper a Jack and his Mother celebrated the day.

He thought it was only natural and civilized to celebrate a family member's birthday, not because of how useful they had been in the years before but because of some sort of love because that's what parents were supposed to do; Love their children. If parents truly didn't like useless children then why did they want to have them to begin with?

What really surprised Pepper Jack was that, deep inside himself, he knew he wasn't surprised at all and yet it still hurt. Was that a weakness?

Pepper Jack could not answer his own questions. He was not the smartest child, after all.

“Now get out.” Muenster lowered himself once more and returned to his paperwork, “As you know, I am very busy.”

It was now that Pepper Jack realized that he was just standing there and staring at his father like an idiot.

Knowing he had no other choice in the matter, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat and turn on his heel.

“Of course,” He said in a voice with no feeling as he walked to the the doorway that led out of this place, “Good day, father.”

He was leaving under the assumption that he would leave the subject alone got the foreseeable future and that that was the end of it but he knew it would still bother him and he, in turn, would bother his father.

Still, he walked out of the dim and wet old study and down the steep winding stairwell of iron.

That is, of course, until he didn't.

He walked only to be thrown back when he ran face first into some thick and immovable object.

Upon falling to the floor, he got a couple of large splinters and he was steadily becoming quite bitter about it until a voice spoke up.

“Oh goodness, boy!” Said the kind sounding voice, “I'm so sorry, are you alright?!”

From the floor, Pepper Jack looked up to see the towering figure of Mr. Gouda, the head of the valet services and the boys sort of older brother figure since childhood, extending his hand out to help him to his feet.

Willingly, Pepper Jack took it.

“It's alright…” Pepper Jack replied once he stood and Mr. Gouda excepted his forgiveness, turning immediately back to Mr. Muenster, his boss and a man he was known to respect deeply.

“Sir,” He started out, his expression grim, “I have some bad news.”

“Well, out with it.” Mr. Muenster grumbled, shifting in his seat.

“It's Cheddar, sir. He is sick with a fever.” Mr. Gouda replied.

“What? Is it that serious?”.

“His mother rang in not two hours ago. She said that he would be bed ridden all week and would still be recovering the week after. It's safe to assume it's that pretty serious flu that's been moving through town. Nothing fatal but still pretty serious.”

Pepper Jack, a boy a good two and a half feet shorter than the two of them, thought it unusual how the normally very composed pair was quite distressed over the prospect of losing a single valet member. 

He actually had never heard the two of them sound this frantic.

Not even when his mother was so sick.

“That wretched flu!” Muenster cursed as he slouched back in his chair, “Cheddar is our fastest runner! You lot will suffer without him!”

“I know that much.” Mr. Gouda shrugged helplessly all the while shaking his head, “The worst part is that there is no one to replace him when we need him most.”

“You don't have any replacements? None?”

“We had to call everyone in for today, replacement or not. This's just too important of an event to leave anyone out.”

Pepper Jack had never personally met Cheddar but he had heard of the fastest and most polite valet from most of the frequent customers at the hotel. Sometimes he heard of some overly obsessive rich girl coming and staying here purely for Cheddar’s sake because, and he quoted, “Cheddar’s masculine charm had stolen their hearts”.

He was definitely a very valued member of the hotel and Pepper Jack thought it a complete shame that he had to fall so ill but he could not help but humor the concept that, just maybe, the young man's misfortune was in Pepper Jacks favor.

The boy soon gained a brighter smile because it was a very alluring possibility he did not think was too far out of even his short and stubby reach.

“Oh, I just knew something would go wrong!”

“At this point,” Mr. Gouda crossed his arms, looking quite cross himself, “We don't need another Cheddar. Anyone would do.”

“Are you positive there is no one? No friends or family willing to do you a favor?”

“I am truly sorry, sir but you of all people know I don't.”

“Well, I suppose there is only one thing left to do, young Mr. Gouda.” Mr. Muenster rose from his desk, dusted of his coat and approached Mr. Gouda.

Mr. Muenster reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a small leather pouch that clicked and clattered together as it moved. Pepper Jack and Mr. Gouda Immediately recognized it as the man's spare change.

Without further ado, he handed the small pouch to Mr. Gouda who took it, but looked quite confused while doing so.

“Sir, what is this for?” He asked politely.

“Go into town, to the printer's shop.” Mr. Muenster replied, “That right there should be more than enough to print up some wanted adds to fill up your departments empty space. You can keep whatever is left.”

“Yes sir.” Mr. Gouda said with a curt bow and a slight smile on his lips, “Thank you, sir.”

“Now go.”

Mr. Gouda turned on his heel, preparing to leave the study and do as his superior told him to do obediently.

That is, of course, until he didn't.

Mr. Gouda stopped his steps before he bumped into his boss's only child and hid own young friend infront of his boss for the second time today.

“Uh… What is it now, Pepper Jack?”

Pepper Jack stood in front of him to block his way, reaching his arms out to make himself a farther reaching wall to keep the Valet from leaving. He looked very determined, like he had something important to say so Mr. Gouda was willing to hear him out.

“Just wait a second!” The young boy blurted, looking more confident than he had in awhile, “You don't have to do that!”

“B-But Pepper Jack…” Mr. Gouda was not sure what the boy meant while Mr. Muenster was on the edge of his patience.

“Boy, what is this?” Mr. Muenster asked.

“Just listen!” He said, refusing to budge an inch, “You don't have to find a replacement in the city! You have one right here!”.

“We do?”

“Yeah! You do!”

An unusually long pause followed. Both Mr. Muenster and Mr. Gouda were mentally processing what they were told and trying to decipher it in such a way that it did not mean what they knew Pepper Jack was implying.

Pepper Jack noticed this and was mildly irked but not in the least bit discouraged.

“Me!” He declared at last, not caring how loud he was, “I can be Mr. Cheddar’s replacement!”

Yet another unusually long pause followed. Bother Mr. Muenster and Mr. Gouda were again mentally processing what they were told and again trying to decipher it in such a way that it did not mean what they knew Pepper Jack was implying.

Pepper Jack was irritated the first time for having his words thrown away like they were mere child's words and at this point he about had enough of it.

“I'm serious.” He insisted, lowering his arms from the doorway, “I can do it! I'm fully qualified.”

“You are not.” His father interrupted, his eyebrows knit together, “That's ridiculous. You are far from qualified. You can't walk much more than a mile before passing out.”

“He's not wrong, Pepper Jack.” Mr. Gouda chimed in, thoughtfully, under the impression his next words would be of any importance, “You've never had the most stable health, much like your mot-”

A sudden image of a bright smile, two beautiful blue eyes and a life lost too soon flashed through Pepper Jack's mind. It was an image so bright, it hurt his heart and he suddenly found himself filled with rage.

“This has nothing to do with health, Mr. Gouda!” Pepper Jack, suddenly angry at Mr. Gouda for what he knew he was about to say, snapped with a little bit more venom in his voice than he had intended, “I never could walk more because you lot never let me try!”

“P-Pepper Jack…” Mr. Gouda was a bit taken back, not only by the boy's sudden rage but also by himself, someone who had no right to bring up the recent tragedy weighing on all their hearts so carelessly, “I-I am sorry. I should not have said that…”

Even Mr. Muenster was giving him a harsh glare, warning him that if he went any further, they would have to find two replacements in the Valet department instead of just one.

“Sir…” Mr. Gouda slowly turned to his boss, eyes kept low to the floor in humility, “In Pepper Jacks defense… If he did serve as a replacement, he would be away from the party and out of trouble so you wouldn't need to worry about him. It would occupy him for the majority of the day….”

Mr. Muenster seemed to find a portion of the idea appealing but on the other end, he did not like the idea of his hyperactive and overly cheerful son disturbing the guests.

The idea of his own son, his own flesh and blood, giving his hotel bad ratings because of his carelessness made him sick to his stomach. It almost made him want to shoot the idea down immediately and never bring it up again.

But then again, there was always the counter argument he knew Mr. Gouda was about to give him.

“We do…” Mr. Gouda said as Mr. Muenster predicted, finally meeting his eyes, “Really need a replacement, though…”

Another long silence. The room became so silent that the only thing that could be heard was Mr. Muenster grinding his teeth together in confliction over the matter.

The mood in the room soon became a lot happier because Pepper a Jack did not need words to know that he won the argument. As he grew up, the boy soon became familiar with his father's face when he finally gave into something. He knew his mother made his father make that face of defeat and misery enough so he did not need to think twice when he saw it.

Joy filled his heart as he leapt in the air just in time for Mr. Gouda to catch him and, after a polite good bye, began to drag Pepper Jack out of the study.

“I'll be the best most hardworking valet out there, father!” Pepper Jack declared enthusiastically, “Then you'll definitely wish me a happy birthday!”

And with that final exchange, the young Pepper Jack Grade began his first day as a valet for the grand Aur Hotel.

Mr. Gouda did not spare a moment in giving him a brief rundown of all that a Valet was and all that they did for the customers; Which the man had said in a very very long and dramatic speech and Pepper Jack didn't understand half of it but what he did understand was that his duty as a valet was to part the customers modes of transportation in the parking lot by the hotel and retrieve the mode of transportation once the customer wished to leave.

It was to minimize walking for the customers and make them as comfortable as possible but no matter how heroic Mr. Gouda made the job sound, the amount of running Pepper Jack would have to do scared him.

He was getting cold feet but he quickly reminded himself that if he did this properly, he would have done something important and worthwhile so, the next time he saw his father, the man would have no choice but to wish him the happiest of birthdays.

That thought alone filled him with energy to get the job done and get it done right. Mr. Gouda seemed to appreciate the enthusiasm quite a bit.

The rest of the Valet had a similar attitude towards him but overall, they neither noticed nor cared about his small existence, despite being the owners only son. Pepper Jack almost preferred it that was.

The uniform for the job was not that different from Pepper Jacks normal clothing and he was happy about it. It consisted of an orange dress shirt, black slacks and shiny black shoes. The only problem Pepper Jack had with it was that the shoes were two sizes too large, the shirt was two sizes too small and the pants were far far too long for a young man like him to ware.

Overall, he was smelly and itchy all over because no one had bothered to clean the filthy uniform before it was time for him to wear it. He certainly hoped it wouldn't give him Mr. Cheddar's cold.

The boy had a great deal of concerns and worries that weighed on his heart like a hundred pound weight but before he had a moment to dwell, the ribbon was cut, the bell was rung and people began to flood the front of the hotel.

Every valet was sent to the field, including Pepper Jack and each and every one of them immediately went to work.

He saw them running here and there, taking expensive automobiles from old and rich women and the like. Pepper Jack was very impressed to see them seemingly working at the speed of light, working like they had been at this job for years and perfected it.

He had never seen people work in such a smooth system before, like every single person played their own equally important part. 

The boy had never personally seen them work like this, much less been a part of it since Mr. Muenster always confined Pepper Jack to Pepper Jack's own room, where Mozzarella would join him to celebrate his birthday.

With all his faults, all his lack of uniqueness, and all his lazy tendencies, Pepper Jack still thought this was a nice change and, more than anything, a nice distraction.

His old routinely life had suddenly become far too lonely for him to bare in the last year. Sometimes, even money couldn't cure a child's problems.

All it took was one day without her for Pepper Jack to realize that.

But in his amazement at the well working system his father had established at this hotel, he quickly began to feel his body ache at holding that one socially polite pose for so long; His head held high, his back painfully straight and his hands pulled as far behind his back as they could go.

It did not take long for Pepper Jack to realize that every Valet had moved from their post to park someone's mode of transportation with the sole exception of himself.

Disappointment pooled in his stomach as he looked all around for something to park. He realized that, judging by the sweat on their faces and their heavy breathing, all the other valets were working extra hard to fill Mr. Cheddars place; Perhaps to take all the tips or something.

Pepper Jack had heard from Mr. Gouda that the valet would suffer without Mr. Cheddar and that they desperately needed someone, anyone to replace him. He was now officially confused because it did not seem as though they needed him in the slightest bit. In fact, it almost seemed as though he was a nuisance to all the older people around him.

He let out a heavy sigh and shifted back and forth impatiently on his heels.

This was not what he signed up for. That's not to say he signed anything or that he received any rules or promises for this job but he still expected more than this.

How was he expected to impress his father if he didn't do anything but stand out here uselessly? What kind of birthday would that be?

But while he stood there uselessly, lost in the bundle of his own thoughts, he heard something; A woman's voice.

She was quite far off and it sounded as though she was distressed by something. The odd part was that none of the other valets even seemed to notice.

He immediately began to scan the horizon to find the distressed woman, but not out of heroism. It was simply out of silly childlike curiosity.

It did not take long to find her.

A few yards away there was a horse and buggy of all things parked up against the curb. Standing on the roof of it was a beautiful but very odd woman declaring one word over and over again;

“Romeo! Romeo! Oh, Romeo!”

She had an unusual complexion and wore a frilly crimson gown like those that Mozzarella always loved. In some ways, that made Pepper Jack feel more comfortable out here.

She did not seem to get tired and she did not seem to want to let up on the screaming anytime soon so Pepper Jack, in a moment of pure boredom, decided to address it.

Without further ado, he shortened the distance between them and approached the woman.

“What are you doing?” He asked. It may have been rude but he thought it the perfect thing to ask at the time.

Lucky for him, she stopped screaming and responded immediately.

“Oh, hello there.” She said with a kind smile, “My name is Juliet. I'm looking for my lover, Romeo.”

“I can tell, but you should do it in the party where more people can hear you.” He replied, “Don't worry. I'll park your… Mode of transportation.”

His eyes were caught by the two large steeds of pitch black attached to the front of the buggy. Were they actually robot horses? He hoped so as he had never so much as seen a horse in his entire life and had absolutely no idea how they worked.

The creatures were about six feet tall and had long white fur running down their lower legs that made it look as though they were wearing heels. Pepper Jack recognized them as clydesdales.

He knew he was making a mistake by only giving odd looks to her mode of transportation instead of paying attention to Juliet but he didn't really care at the moment.

Nonetheless, that got her off and into the general path of the hotel after a polite goodbye and a shake of his hand. She slipped off and ran into the distance, to the hotels front doors more specifically, and it was only now that Pepper Jack realized that she was not wearing shoes.

He shook off the odd sight and then proceeded to turn to the horse and buggy.

It shouldn't be that hard to park a cart pulled by two animals, right?

At this point, he had no choice so, to the best of his ability, he pushed himself up onto the very tall leather front seat and sat down. There were no seatbelt sand that made him uncomfortable. Aside from that, the view was amazing. He was sure he could look down and even see the top of his father's head at this height.

Besides the seat was what he knew to be a wip intended to make the horses go, kind of like putting keys in the ignition. It seemed simple enough so he took hold of the reins, pulled the whip back and thrust it down as hard as he could.

Big mistake.

The horses rushed forward at the speed of light itself, pulling the empty buggy and Pepper Jack with them.

He practically soared through the road and into the parking lot, doing his best to steer the mad creatures and not die.

The unusual part was that the creatures quickly found a nice empty space in a long empty row and came to a complete halt. When that happened, Pepper Jack was thrown about five feet.

He returned to hid post ten minutes later, his knees skinned and his enthusiasm for this job just about gone after the first customer.

The other valets laughed at him. His only consolation was that they probably skinned their knees hundreds of times and cried like little kids on their first day, to.

The valets and cars came and went but it was only a few minutes later when he saw another chance to do his job.

The boy saw a flying plate. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to make sure wasn't dreaming or hallucinating but what he saw was completely real.

It was an unidentified flying object of pure silver, seemingly. It had the shape of a dinner plate but was about three times the size of one. It was, if he could describe it, a sort of of flying saucer.

Once again, all the other valets did their best to ignore it. It confused Pepper Jack because the valets were supposed to attend to all customers and yet the completely ignored the ones that were a little weirder than others.

In some ways, he thought it was wrong so, to be different from the rest, he stepped forward to attend to this customer.

Upon doing so, his concerns were confirmed. The odd grey man in a small tuxedo that came out of the saucer was quite polite and even shook his hand. It spoke with unusual ‘bleep bloop bloop’ sounds but he was positive he was only saying the nicest things. When Pepper Jack introduced himself, the gray man just said ‘D’. He was not sure if that was his name or not. He could never be sure.

He saw no reason why the man should be avoided if he was so nice. The valet was just discriminating for no reason.

Pepper Jack knew he would have to tell his father and Mr. Gouda about this even though it would get people in trouble. Discrimination would bring down hotel ratings and he was sure at least that matter to them.

But upon attempting to park the grey man's flying saucer in the parking lot, he ran into a bit of difficulty. Luckily this mode of transportation had seat belts but they were far too tight for Pepper Jack to breath properly while wearing them.

All these options kept showing up; One said Jupiter, another said Titan, another said Pluto. They were all shown on this sort of holographic screen in an unusual writing style and Pepper Jack was only confused as why any little green man would ever need to go to Pluto of all places. It took a good ten minutes for the boy to find earth and another ten to find cheese city. Once he found an empty space in the parking lot, he circled it with his finger and pressed enter.

Bad idea.

For the second time today, he zoomed into the parking lot at the speed of light and, if he had to do it again, he was sure to be sick.

The lid of the flying saucer opened without him having to tell it to. That was a bit unusual but he didn't care. As soon as possible, he leaned over the railing and puked up all his breakfast because had gone at a pace no man had gone before.

He came back to his post again, pale, shaking, his knees still bleeding. The other valets still laughed but he hardly heard him.

The next people his fellow employees allowed him to get were three cars made entirely of, as hard as it was to believe, wood and glue. 

The first car held a large grizzly bear who sat impatiently with his hands on the wheel. His name was papa bear.

The second car held a smaller grisly bear with feminine features who was too busy doing her makeup in her rearview mirror. Her name was mama bear.

The third car Pepper Jack soon learned was actually glued to the second. In its safe confinements was a grizzly bear cub in a large carseat. Pepper Jack did not need to be told to know that this was baby bear, the two bears child. It looked to be on the verge of crying but it kept getting distracted at the amazing taste of the bowl of porridge it was eating from. If Pepper Jack had to make an assumption, he would have to say that it was just right.

They were much less friendly than his previous customers. He was sure the papa bear tried to bite him. He did not like the idea of that so he kept his distance.

They, a happy family of wild animals walking on two legs like people, made their way into the party while their young valet began his journey to get both their cars parked.

He was thankful to not be going at the speed of light this once but the cars did not seem to have any real engine so he had to push both cars into the parking lot. 

That took a good half an hour and he practically had to crawl his way back to his post, panting like a dehydrated dog.

The next was a man on an elephant. He was a very angry man with a very angry elephant and Pepper Jack did not want any part of it but the giant creature was blocking the main drive and the whole front of the hotel was filled with a wretched harmony of honking cars and road rage.

For some reason, the other valets relied on him, the newbie, to get this job done.

The poor boy had to boy to this man that called himself a ‘sultan’ and kiss his gross and sweaty shoes because it was all he could do to keep the customer and his interesting mode of transportation from going on a violent rampage.

Once he, after much hardship, got the elephant parked, he returned to his post humiliated, bleeding, shaking and utterly exhausted. This whole job was turning out far too miserable for him to mentally comprehend.

But, unusually enough, he was tipped. The sultan gave him six shiny coins that he had never seen before but he was sure they were worth something. It made him happy to know he did well enough to get tipped.

The next customer was a boy in green. He did not have a mode of transportation. He floated above ground with what he said was ‘pixie dust’. He, a boy younger than Pepper Jack who called himself Peter Pan, told the valets that any parking was unnecessary but Pepper Jack insisted so he gave Pepper Jack a very small winged girl that fit in the palm of his hand and told Pepper Jack to park his ‘Fairy’.

That was, oddly enough, exactly what Pepper Jack ended up doing. He didn't think about it too much because he was far too exhausted.

The next customer called himself Nicholas. He was an elderly man with a great big bushy white beard and his wife, who sat beside him, looked just as old as he was. The overdressed couple rode here on a sleigh pulled by reindeer and, instead of tipping Pepper Jack with money, they said he was a nice boy and gave him a present.

Pepper Jack just about teared up, thinking this was the only present he was going to get on his birthday.

If he had to choose his favorite customer and a default family he would like to be adopted out to, it would be those two very kind elderly people.

The next customer was someone Pepper Jack immediately recognized, despite having never met the young man before.

A familiar horse and buggy parked on the curb and not a moment later, a man with dark hair emerged who immediately proceeded to climb onto the roof and scream one single word at the very top of his lungs like some maniac.

“Juliet! Juliet! Oh, Juliet! My love, where have you gone! Oh, Juliet! Oh Juliet!”

With a bright smile on his face, Pepper Jack ran up to the horse and buggy, knowing exactly what to do.

“Excuse me, good sir!” Pepper Jack said with a curt and polite bow, “I do believe your true love is waiting for you at the party and she has been for while now! I hope you won't make the lovely young lady called Juliet wait a second more!”

They was enough to send him running to the party. 

Pepper Jack was happy to know that the crazy lovers were now reunited and he proceeded to park the second horse and buggy of the day at a slow and peaceful pace so that he wouldn't cause himself any more pain.

He had met many unusual people that day, more than he had ever seen in his entire life.

He saw a man that claimed to be a time traveler and Pepper Jack just about broke the space time continuum trying to park the darn thing.

He saw a horseman with no head. He was silent but still very kind and tipped him fifteen dollars and his horse, though scary in appearance, was agreeable enough and easy to park.

He saw a man with a mustache that was waxed upwards and he rode a normal, if not a little outdated, automobile. At first Pepper Jack though the man, who called himself Dali, was completely normal. That is, of course, until his watch began to melt right off his wrist for no apparent reason at all.

He saw an elderly woman who flew here on magical wings. The woman called herself the fairy godmother of Cheese city and the first thing she said toppled Jack was that she could grant many wishes but what Pepper Jack truly wanted was not something she could grant. The boy wasn't sure what she meant by that but he parked her magic wand anyway.

He saw a dog, your average chocolate Labrador retriever, drive a Toyota up to the hotel and park. There was nothing unusual about this dog; It walked on four legs and did speak. Still, somehow it managed to get to this hotel for the party. Pepper Jack parked to car and since then he has not been arable to remove all the dog hair from his clothing. The dogs name was Claire, though. He read the tag.

Somehow, he had grown used to all the unusual things that he saw that when he saw your average biker, a middle aged man with a neon green bike, he laughed because it appeared to him like it was the strangest thing in the world.

Eight other customers followed.

But somewhere along the lines, Pepper Jack's thoughts became somewhat clearer like this whole event, though miserable, was a bottle of fresh air and he began to drift to his mother.

His mother, Mozzarella and her bright smile like the sun in the sky.

He wondered if, wherever she was, if she was proud of him, even though he wasn't that unique or useful. He wondered if she still loved him even though she was so far away.

The thought gave his spirit, a restless spirit that hid behind the smile of a woman who was long gone, a bit of peace.

It was about four in the afternoon now and the sky was beginning to dim to a gorgeous orange. Pepper Jack Grade, a fifteen year old boy felt the distinct feeling that he had just been through a world war, like he was some soldier.

All he knew was that when he saw Mr. Gouda come towards him in all his clean and shimmering glory, he felt as though he had seen the face of an angel. The sight almost took his breath away with amazement as the man proceeded to tell him that his shift was over and that he could go home, a beautiful melody to his ears.

Pepper Jack did not remember too well but he was pretty sure he gave Mr. Gouda a huge hug.

It was over. It was finally over.

Those words only were like Christmas in his mind. Mr. Gouda didn't think he had ever seen the child the happy before.

Relief and excitement flooded his system, clearing out all the dirty corners. He had accomplished his goal and it was finally over.

To say it was all fun and games would be a lie because Pepper Jack was utterly miserable the majority of the time. To say that it was pure torture, however, would also be a lie because, as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have that much fun in a long time.

Dirty water from the sink had never tasted so good. He fell in love with saltine crackers the moment they fell into his mouth and he ate about three packs of them, still wanting more.

He was suddenly higher than any pixie dust or flying saucer could ever get him and he didn't think anything would bring him down because he had accomplished his goal and now that father of his had no choice but to wish him happy birthday.

He had no choice now because Pepper a Jack had filled in for an important position and now he deserved a birthday.

His mind was elsewhere in these moments.

The main hall was filled with people he both knew and had never seen before; He saw his customers, he saw the staff and he saw customers for other valets in a well lit room enjoying the pleasantries of a party such as this. Pepper Jack had seen this scene before, about fifteen times.

But now a rather unusual scene caused him to stop in his tracks at the main hall. His pace went from a sprint to a slow walk to a complete still.

There was music in the air. Everyone was smiling.

It felt good to know he was part of something like this for once. It really did.

But something put a bitter taste in his mouth.

The large white banner hung up in front of the entrance was supposed to tell the customers what day it was and what the party was for; The twenty second anniversary of the hotel.

It said something different now.

Something he never actually truly wanted.

His father's words echoed in his mind. He knew the man was not completely cruel but that did not change the fact that his heart was made of ice and even when he tried to understand.

‘I will not wish it to you.” His father may have said but now Pepper Jack understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

I will not wish it to you, but the party will.

A part of Pepper Jack knew that his only reason behind putting a secondary holiday for a useless the man saw no importance in was to respect his wife's annual wishes and that was it. Pepper Jack had nothing to do with it.

It was like the man hadn't even heard his own son speak at all.

And so, a filled with a second wave of purpose, Pepper Jack forgot he had even seen the banner and proceeded to walk to his father's study at a steady pace.

Pepper Jack thought with utmost certainty that his father had no choice now and that's why he ran straight to his father's study, ran up the stairwell as fast as his exhausted legs could take him and, without further ado, threw his father's study door open wide.

The air around him was humid, filled with dust and water. Everything seemed to taste of salt and filth and he could hardly smell the peaches anymore because he was breathing so hard.

His heart was pounding heavily in his chest and would probably continue to do so for the next twenty four hours. There really wasn't much he could do about that as he was far too excited.

As expected, his father sat in the usual way in his usual place; The study.

Whether he was mad or happy, he was always in his study and Pepper Jack could always count on finding him there. It seemed to be the only thing Pepper Jack really found consistent about his father's personality anymore, especially after what happened to his mother.

Pepper Jack had never really gone to see his father voluntary in the years before. He always followed his mother up that winding stairwell and his little hand was always nestled in her palm. It made him feel safe.

Now he was alone and he walked up the stairs to see his father of his own accord. He did this not for any childish greed but simply he wished to regain something he lost, something to fill the gap when his mother left his side and he no longer felt safe.

And so he said it once again.

“Father,” He breathed heavily, still so very exhausted, “Won't you wish me happy birthday now?”

A very long silence followed.

His father ceased his penwork and lifted his head to meet his son's far too bright and far too familiar eyes.

Mr. Muenster was almost deathly still like a stone statue. He had always been very still and he did not say a single word.

Pepper Jacks smile faltered greatly.

“Father?”

The silence continued till it felt like claws against a chalkboard yet Pepper Jack knew he should not disrupt it like he always used to. The boy was fully aware that his attention span, something that hardly went past his own fingertips in length, always grated on his father's weak nerves and often made the man loose patience. That was the last thing he wanted.

He kept his eyes wide expectantly despite the anxiety that filled his chest.

“Father, I…” He continued, unsure of where he was even going to go with this if his father didn't speak up, “I did the job…. And I park a lot of people's cars…”

“You parked about twenty cars,” Mr. Muenster said suddenly, breaking the silence, “Which, according to Mr. Gouda, is the lowest number of all valets today.”

Pepper Jack vividly heard the disappointment in his tone. He was familiar with it, he had grown up with that tone ringing in his ears and yet it was the very last thing he expected to hear. It was the last thing he wanted to hear from the father he worked so hard to impress.

“But I…” Pepper Jack did not intend to sound so weak, but his voice cracked mid sentence none the less, “I worked really… Really hard, father…”

The boys poor breaking heart practically skipped a beat when Mr. Muenster suddenly stood up from his chair. The air around him suddenly turned cold and sickly sweet like the peaches were beginning to rot after all these years. His childlike excitement fermented into anxiety, his racing heart now causing his chest to burn.

A single emotion still had yet to flicker across his father's stern features as he left his desks side and approached Pepper Jack.

“Come with me.” Was all he said as he walked past Pepper Jack swiftly and began to walk down the winding stairwell for once in his life. It was a quiet phrase and if Pepper Jack didn't know better, he would think it was just the breeze.

His anxiety was soon blown away by that very breeze and inside him, a fire was lit. Pepper Jack suddenly felt very angry.

He was angry at his father, at himself, at Mr. Gouda, at everything.

He was fully away of his mother's final wish. Pepper Jack still heard his mother's final words vividly in his ears, telling him to keep smiling no matter what went wrong or right, up or down. She said his smile was beautiful and that he should wear it at all times but there, in that moment, all he could do was frown bitterly as his eyes became hot.

He quickly followed his father down the stairs. 

“Wait, father!” He blurted.

Mr. Muenster didn't even acknowledge him, like always and Pepper a Jack continued to follow closely behind, nearly tripping over his sore feet trying to catch up.

“I did what you wanted me to do! I was useful!”

And yet his father kept going till he reached that green curtain, the one that led to the podium in the main hall for all the staff and customers to see.

He extended his pale hand to pull the curtains back and walk through to greet the people of the party that he put on for his son. Pepper Jack would seem ungrateful if he spoke up at a party he never even wanted . Pepper Jack knew that if his father did that, he would be gone and any chance of being heard would vanish, just like it always did.

Pepper Jack suddenly found himself rushing off the stairs.

His veins were filled with adrenaline because there was things he really wanted to- No, needed to say.

Things that always lay at the tip of his tongue, things that hurt to keep inside.

Things he had kept hidden in every moment of this year, things he didn't think he could keep in a moment longer.

Things he desperately wished for his father to hear, things he desperately wished for himself to say at last for all the pain to end.

And with those final thoughts, somehow the fog in his weak little heart began to clear and time began to slow.

“...You hate me, don't you.”

His father stopped any movement.

“You got what you want-” 

“A stupid party was never what I asked for and you know it!”

The mere thought of eating any cake or ice cream made him want to puke.

Pepper Jack felt a sharp agonizing pain in his chest but he ignored it. He was sure his mother was in so much more pain when her own weak heart killed her that one stormy night all those months ago.

He still remembered it too vividly.

“...You hate me because you think I killed mother.”

“....You hate me because you think I'm the reason she is gone, now.”

There it was. The ice was broken, the beast was faced and the words were finally spoken.

His breath quickened and his head was beginning to feel hot. His heart was beating a little too fast and the pain was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

How could Muenster expect a boy like him, the child of a woman with a heart so weak and a man with no heart at all, to hide it all inside without breaking like a porcelain doll?

How could Muenster treat his own son like this like the boy wasn't dying, to, day by day.

Pepper Jack put his hand back on the stairwell railing to steady himself. 

The boy felt like passing out. It was unusual. He had never felt faint before. Why was now different? 

“You hate me…. Because… You worked to give mother…. Everything…. And yet…. And yet… She valued….”

His knees hit the metal steps with a dull thud. His hands felt tingly, dull like they had been wrapped up in bubble wrap, numbed by cold and slipped from the railing.

“A… Useless child like… Me…”

It was unusual how he couldn't stop himself from talking as his words kept becoming quieter and quieter till they were nothing but a whisper or how he seemed to be breathing out far air more that he should be.

“...Because I couldn't… Save…”

It was very unusual and the pain in his chest was almost blinding him and yet he didn't care because the memory of his dear sweet mother was far too vivid in his mind. The memory of her cooking eggs for him every morning and that of her going to sleep and never waking up seemed to merge together till he could no longer tell them apart.

His mother was dead now and it was not his fault.

A part of him urged him to say what he truly felt, to say the true reason why everything his father did seemed to make him angry one way or another, no matter what it was, how he was so determined to see the man as the enemy.

‘Go ahead.’ The voice said, ‘Just say it.’

‘I may be useless, father, but it's you who truly sent mother to her grave.’

That was it.

The truth.

Pepper Jack Grads blamed his father for everything, every tear shed, every scraped knee, everything. 

He wanted to tell his father, his thoughts now clear as day, that it was his fault, that he should have spent every penny of his fortune for treatments to save her, that he should have treasured every day with her and loved her till all anxiety faded, that he should have told his son how to let go.

Pepper Jack wanted to yell at him but his body now felt too numb, his tongue limp in his mouth, and he was breathing far too heavily to get anything out.

His mind never processed that he was panicking, that he was hyperventilating, that he was having a severe anxiety attack or that he was on the verge of passing out.

All it processed was the silhouetted form of his father jerking his head in his direction and rushing forward.

There was a brief moment of silence but not a moment afterwards, he found his body wrapped up in warmth like a Christmas present. His body was lifted slightly from the ground he was pinned on and he felt pressure on his body.

Even through the haze of an anxiety attack, he could still feel it and he was not entirely familiar with what exactly was going on.

His breathing slowed as his focus was drawn away to the hand stroking his hair slowly and softly, again and again.

A pause. A moment of peace.

A breath of clean fresh air was taken in and breathed out.

It was only now that Pepper Jack realized that he had never been hugged before; Not by grandparents, not by aunts, not by uncles, not by strangers, not even by his dear mother.

It just never happened before.

But in the endless stream of possibilities, he never dreamed of being hugged by his father, certainly not on his birthday.

That was just not something that happened and yet here they both were, in a dark room behind the podium. There his father was holding him in his arms and there he was, clinging to the man's shirt for his dear life.

“Calm down, boy…” He heard in a soft and kind voice, the sort of tone he had never heard his father use before, “I could never hate you… I could never hate you…”

“I...l… Don't believe you…” He choked out.

“You are a useless and good for nothing child,” the man continued as he pulled his son closer, “But I am a useless and good for nothing father…”

“I… Can't….”

“I let your mother die.”

Somehow hearing him admit it brought Pepper Jack no fulfillment. It only made the nightmare more real.

He felt warm liquid run down his face nonetheless.

“I let your mother die and I am sorry…” He whispered far too softly, “You don't have to forgive me… You never did….”

Somehow, Pepper Jack hated himself for feeling relieved and comforted. He hated how he let the tears he held in for so long in secret fall so freely like it meant nothing.

But more than anything, how he hated how all that hate and all that sorrow he held inside his weak little heart came to absolutely nothing. Holding such a heavy burden for so long did not bring his mother back and she was not here to comfort him and dry his tears.

She was gone and she was never going to come back.

But then again.

His father would never be half the Angel his mother was but, here and now, perhaps he could be here now and again and maybe Pepper Jack the child wouldn't have to feel so alone anymore.

Maybe he could laugh and smile for real this time and maybe his father could do the same for once. His mother's final width was not for a feigned copy to exist where the child she loved used to live.

Maybe he could let go, maybe he could move on just a little bit.

They sat there for a bit longer, just in time for the boys tears to dry and heartbeat to level.

The two now stood, straightening their clothing; Mr. Muenster his coat and Pepper Jack his torn up valet uniform; and took a deep breath.

There were still guests waiting and there was still a party to be had.

Pepper Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to meet his father's gaze.

“Happy birthday, by the way.” The man said like it was the easiest thing in the world to say, “Sorry for not saying it earlier.”

It was then that Pepper Jack realized that the reason he wanted those two words at first so terribly was because he simply wanted to know that the man cared at all.

He didn't realize before that that one piece of proof mattered more to him than any presents, any birthdays and any personal belongings.

“I forgive you…” Those three words slipped out in a near silent whisper before Pepper Jack could stop himself, “For everything…”

Somehow, he knew his father heard as the two slipped out through the curtain to meet the guests.

So many people had come that year and were pleasantly surprised at the bright smile of the boy that parked their modes of transportation, saying it was like having the lovely Mozzarella Grade with them once again.


End file.
